Today (October 15), the National Bureau of Statistics released retail data for October 2024.
The data shows that in October, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 4.5396 trillion yuan ($628.2 billion), a year-on-year increase of 4.8%. From January to October, total retail sales were 39.896 trillion yuan ($5.52 trillion), up 3.5% year-on-year. Notably, in October, cosmetic retail sales were 46.8 billion yuan ($6.48 billion), a significant year-on-year growth of 40.1%, while January-October sales reached 356.3 billion yuan, up 3%.
From January to October, national online retail sales totaled 12.3632 trillion yuan ($1.71 trilliong), an 8.8% year-on-year increase. Online retail sales of physical goods were 10.333 trillion yuan ($1.43 trilliong), up 8.3% and accounting for 25.9% of total retail sales. Among physical goods, sales of food, clothing, and daily-use items grew by 17.7%, 4.7%, and 7.7%, respectively.
Looking at data over the past year, October’s cosmetic retail sales reached the third highest point in the last 12 months. The year-on-year growth of 40.1% in October was the highest this year, while the lowest growth occurred in June, with a year-on-year decrease of 14.6%, reaching a retail total of 40.5 billion yuan ($5.6 billion).
According to a CHAILEEDO review of October cosmetic retail sales data from the past decade (2014-2024), the growth rate showed limited fluctuation between 2014 and 2020. From 2020 to 2022, the growth rate dropped from 18.3% to -3.7%, with 2022 having the lowest year-on-year growth. Over the past two years, growth has improved, and this October’s rate reached a new high of 40.1%.
In terms of import data from customs, in October, the national import volume of “beauty, cosmetics, and personal care products” totaled 28,282.6 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 11.6%, with an import value of 10.49 billion yuan ($1.45 billion), down 9% year-on-year. Additionally, from January to October, cumulative cosmetic imports totaled 269,722.5 tons, down 11.6% year-on-year, with an import value of 98.17 billion yuan ($13.58 billion), down 9%.
